War Games

The lighter side of things. A place for humor and joyful things.

What is your opinion of board games with a military theme?

 
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temporal1
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Re: War Games

Post by temporal1 »

Blitz: Which came first? pastry or war?
http://germanculture.com.ua/baking-reci ... itz-torte/
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KingdomBuilder
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Re: War Games

Post by KingdomBuilder »

Josh wrote:In The Christian Example, one story cited playing Dutch Blitz as possibly endangering one's salvation.
Right after the section entitled: "Was Your Baptism Made Void By Immersion in Chlorinated Water?"
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francis
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Re: War Games

Post by francis »

I think chess is distant enough, I don't know anyone (certainly no children) who think it's anything like war. It's just a more complex version of checkers. Some people worry about children becoming too competitive but I think that can apply just as much to games like four-square, jump-rope, even competing over chores.
Games like Risk are not appealing to me at all, but my history teachers have used the boards and pieces to explain historical wars to me. I think they certainly work well as visual aids. My mother never let me or my siblings play with toy guns and I think that's a good thing. Kids already play rough without the aid of fake weapons. Just my two cents.
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temporal1
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Re: War Games

Post by temporal1 »

interesting. i think of chess as “the ultimate” war strategy game. :)
physical fighting is more on a primitive level.
The actual origins of chess--a board game representing two armies with the goal of capturing the opponent's King--are not very well-known.
Some historical scholars have found traces of a chess-like game being played in Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) at around 180 BCE. Others have found references to similar games in the Kushan Empire of northern India at around 50 BCE.

Game of Kings - The History of Chess
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/1 ... y-of-Chess
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ohio jones
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Story Time with Uncle OJ

Post by ohio jones »

It was a dark and stormy night as I boarded the train in Chicago a few years ago. The full load of passengers meant that seats were assigned, and I was given an aisle seat in the middle of the car. My seatmate, a young man who appeared to be about 20, was settling in, arranging blankets, pillows, snacks, and electronics as he extracted them from his duffel bag. I put my backpack in the overhead rack and sat down, book in hand. I travel light.

From the looks of things, I guessed he'd be spending the night on the train. But when the car attendant came by to post the seat checks, it turned out he'd be getting off at my station, less than 3 hours away. By the timetable, that is; keep in mind this is Amtrak. Notwithstanding the laws that require schedule priority for passenger trains, railroad dispatchers on shared tracks are rumored to say things like this in response to a time synchronization call: “If you're CSX it's 2132. If you're Norfolk Southern, it's 9:32 PM. Union Pacific, the big hand is just beyond 6 and the little hand is between 9 and 10. If you're Amtrak, it's Tuesday.”

As we pulled out of the station, my nest door neighbor went to the cafe car for nachos and Coke, then decided there was room on the tray table for a laptop as well. First to appear on the screen was a playlist of hip-hop. Fortunately, soon to appear on the head was a headset. Then, on a desktop as cluttered as his window seat, he double-clicked an icon marked Chess. He glanced over to see if I was observing, and asked if I was up for a game.

Now at this point I admit to engaging in a bit of racial profiling. Had he been European- or Asian-American I wouldn't have been russian to any conclusions about his proficiency in the game, but how much would one expect a black guy his age to know about chess? I figured I'd dispose of him in three moves, well maybe five at the most, and get back to my book.

Boy was I wrong. The kid was good, real good. I forced him to play defense, but despite having him one or two moves from checkmate for over a dozen moves in a row, he always saw it and managed to block the possibility. Finally the number of pieces on the board dwindled to a point that neither of us had a clear advantage or path to victory, and we called a draw.

I congratulated him on a good game, and asked where he learned to play. After a bit of hesitation, he replied rather sheepishly, “in prison.”

I wish I would have had more to say in response to that, but profound thoughts can take a while to percolate through my mind, often arriving later than Amtrak. As I think of him every now and again, I pray that he has learned not just to look ahead a few moves when playing chess, but also to anticipate the consequences of his actions in a way that keeps him outside the bars –- and especially to look ahead to the end of the game and his encounter with the King.
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Sudsy
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Re: War Games

Post by Sudsy »

Just kicking around some thoughts that came while considering this thread. FWIW.

Are war games any different than other games or activities in life from a competition point of view ? Is there any scriptural support for competing with others in anything ? Some say competition has various pros that result in improved living for mankind as if these improvements could not be had outside of competing with others. Competition also brings about some bad also. What God especially hates often surfaces from winning some competition - pride. Anxieties occur over earthly things that negatively affect the ego. If our enjoyments are based on winning, then we are not experiencing true unspeakable joy that is not based on circumstances. War itself is a competition where someone will win and the other lose. Even being more pious than others is or can become a competition. So competitions with others require quite a different mindset than how the world views competing.

As believers our warring is not to be against flesh and blood but in the spirit realm. Yet some of the biggest wars are those fought in churches where Christians compete with one another to win their points. If these were struggles against heresy then they would appear to be correct to do but often they are about human preferences.

Someone once said and I have heard it often repeated - 'Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser'. Well, is that how a Christian should respond to competitions ? I ask that because I have spent much of my life in some way or another competing with others, other Christians included. And have I been a 'good loser' ? Many times :oops: , no.

So, although I had a wonderful Christian home, I don't recall much about how to live in this competitive world and deal with winning and losing in a Christian way that would glorify God. This, I believe, requires a way of viewing competition quite opposite of the world. A major area of non-conforming. Something to be taught from an early age.

I don't mean to wander off the topic too far on this thread and if it is too far, we can move it to another new thread.

I'm wondering what others think on this and how they go about both winning and losing in some kind of competition with others that glorifies God. Even here on this forum I think we are into 'war games' at times, myself included, and know some of my input is not to glorify God in it. Thoughts ?
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appleman2006
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Re: War Games

Post by appleman2006 »

Really enjoyed that story OJ. You should write more of them.

And it did bring to mind another interesting thing about games.

I am not much of a gamer. Almost never play online. But my wife has got into it some. And she has had encounters with people around the world and got into some amazing discussions, quite deep spiritual discussions at times.

This is not something I would advise for just anyone but I have found it to be very interesting.
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temporal1
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Re: War Games

Post by temporal1 »

appleman:
Really enjoyed that story OJ. You should write more of them.
i would love to be a microbe perpetually perched on oj’s shoulder, just to witness+hear as he traipses through life. :mrgreen:
IRL, i’m more of an AMTRAK than CSX, but, hey. :D
And it did bring to mind another interesting thing about games.

I am not much of a gamer. Almost never play online. But my wife has got into it some. And she has had encounters with people around the world and got into some amazing discussions, quite deep spiritual discussions at times.

:arrow: This is not something I would advise for just anyone but I have found it to be very interesting.
as in other topics, wine may be a good example (?) .. some have no problem with games, for others, they are a terrible stumbling block.
oj:
.. I wish I would have had more to say in response to that, but profound thoughts can take a while to percolate through my mind, often arriving later than Amtrak.
As I think of him every now and again, I pray that he has learned not just to look ahead a few moves when playing chess, but also to anticipate the consequences of his actions in a way that keeps him outside the bars –-
and especially to look ahead to the end of the game and his encounter with the King.
.. he may think of you as often as you think of him. :) i wonder.
from your words, the Holy Spirit must be with him, guiding him; your encounter is unlikely to go “as nothing.” your paths may cross again! either way, the Holy Spirit is at work, unlike us, is not clumsy or slow to percolate. 8-)

such an interesting encounter.
it takes me back years+years ago when i first learned the game of chess is a universal game which people from everywhere learn, a common language is not necessary! looking back, i’m not sure how it caught my attention. it was never in my home growing up. i could be a peculiar child.

the first page of this thread reminds of my childhood.
one side of my family was staunchly against games, “evil” was not a foreign notion; the other side was more relaxed, respectful of those not participating. we children were taught to respect both sides.

maybe this is where i find i often have so much trouble with polls? how to choose?!
“there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” that sort of thing?

on the other hand, thankfully, i do get the message from scriptures about the importance of intent, and heart. we so often want distinct black+white answers to things. factoring in intent+heart complicates matters. it complicates. but it’s worth it. :)

i wonder if this young man is pen pals with Joy. :D
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temporal1
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Re: War Games

Post by temporal1 »

oj, will you share your answers/thoughts on your poll question?
i.e, in addition to your clues above? :D
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Re: War Games

Post by ohio jones »

Well, the idea for the thread started with some introspection on my part. One of our NMB guys came across a set of Axis & Allies and invited several of us to join him. I'm the only one who had played the game before or knew much about it. I kidded the youth pastor that playing war games on Saturday should be followed by a sermon on nonresistance on Sunday, so we decided to include a short discussion and disclaimer before starting. For those of you who draw the line short of that particular game, I understand and respect your position, but ask a bit of Romans 14 forbearance.

As I see it, board games of whatever sort should be taken metaphorically not confused with reality. Whether the playing pieces are troops or train tracks or power lines or murder weapons or Atlantic City hotels is (nearly) irrelevant. The game is merely a framework for the study of logic and strategy, and for social experiences.

Now of course it is entirely possible to overdo playing games at the expense of deeper fellowship and non-trivial pursuits. And some people, whether by temperament or maturity, don't handle metaphors or competition well and should be encouraged into other activities. So there is certainly a need for balance in this area, and openness to correction.

As it turns out, they didn't like the game enough to want to play again anytime soon.
appleman2006 wrote:I know the modern game of risk uses soldier figures. The older one used to simply use a 3 sided little block thingy. Just call them Bibles if it makes you feel better.
My edition has plastic roman numerals. So I guess we can add archaic math to the positive aspects of playing games.

And for what it's worth, the A&A game was pretty much decided when we smuggled ESVs into Leningrad.
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I am a Christian and my name is Pilgram; I'm on a journey, but I'm not alone -- NewSong, slightly edited
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